Hollywood in 2014

Hollywood in 2014 was a dynamic year marked by several major box office hits, ongoing trends, and significant industry events.

Top Grossing Films Worldwide:

The worldwide box office was dominated by a mix of action, sci-fi, fantasy, and animated films. The top 10 highest-grossing films globally were:

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction ($1.1 billion)¹

2. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ($962.2 million)

3. Guardians of the Galaxy ($772.7 million)

4. Maleficent ($758.4 million)

5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 ($755.3 million)³

6. X-Men: Days of Future Past ($746 million)⁴

7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714.4 million)⁵

8. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ($710.6 million)⁶

9. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($708.9 million)

10. Interstellar ($677.8 million)

Notably, 2014 was the first year since 1997 where no animated movies were among the top 10 highest-grossing films, though Big Hero 6 and How to Train Your Dragon 2 were close behind.

Major Trends in Hollywood:

• Blockbusters and Franchises: The dominance of sequels, reboots, and established franchises continued, with many of the top-grossing films falling into this category (e.g., Transformers, The Hobbit, Marvel, X-Men, Hunger Games, Spider-Man, Planet of the Apes).

• Genre Variety within Blockbusters: While action and sci-fi reigned, there was also success for fantasy (Maleficent), and animated films continued to be strong performers overall.

• Sci-Fi Resurgence: Several critically acclaimed and commercially successful sci-fi films were released, including Interstellar and Edge of Tomorrow.⁷

• Fairytale Adaptations: Maleficent was a prime example of the trend of live-action adaptations and reinterpretations of classic fairytales.⁸

• Young Adult Adaptations: The success of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, Divergent, and The Maze Runner highlighted the continued popularity of adaptations from young adult novels.

• Focus on Awards Season: The fall saw the release of many films aiming for critical acclaim and Oscar nominations, such as Boyhood, Birdman, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash, and Gone Girl.

• Social Media Impact: Pop culture events, including the infamous Ellen DeGeneres Oscar selfie and the "Adele Dazeem" moment (John Travolta's mispronunciation of Idina Menzel's name at the Oscars), showcased the increasing role of social media in amplifying Hollywood moments.

Key Industry Events and Developments:

• Awards Season: The 87th Academy Awards (held in February 2015, but honoring 2014 films) saw Birdman win Best Picture and Best Director (Alejandro G. Iñárritu), while Boyhood received significant recognition throughout the awards circuit.⁹ Other major awards ceremonies like the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice, BAFTA, and various Guild Awards also celebrated the year's cinematic achievements.

• Film Festivals: Key film festivals like Sundance, Berlin International Film Festival, Cannes, Venice, and Toronto showcased a diverse range of films, many of which would later gain awards recognition.

• Sony Pictures Hack: A major event in late 2014 was the cyberattack on Sony Pictures, which resulted in the leakage of sensitive company data, emails, and unreleased films, causing significant disruption and a public relations nightmare for the studio.¹⁰

Overall, Hollywood in 2014 demonstrated the enduring power of big-budget franchises and genre films at the box office, while also offering a strong slate of critically acclaimed movies that garnered significant awards attention.